India and Australia in Goa
Fresh from another defeat at the hands of the Indians in an international fixture the touring Australian team arrived in the city of Goa for the final match of their short and unsuccessful tour.
The Aussies lost the second ODI of the three match series in the final over of the match but the result was hardly in doubt for the most part of the Indian innings as they chased down the target of 290 runs for the loss of only 5 wickets.
The defeat follows their 2-0 loss in the Test series, which went down as their first whitewash since 1982.
The final match of the ODI series is their last shot at saving their blushes and salvaging some pride in what has been one of their poorest tours in recent years.
They arrived with a confident and exuberant Indian cricket team ahead of the match to be played on the 24th of this month.
The Indian team is expecting another full house and a passionate crowd roaring them on as they try and grind the World Champions before their defence of the 50 overs World Cup that is set to be played in the Subcontinent from February next month.
The tourists on the other end also have injury and unavailability of leading players to deal with before they take the field for the crucial match.
They have arrived in the city with only a 12 member squad after fast bowler Doug Bollinger and batsman Michael Hussey returned home after the conclusion of the second ODI match.
Bollinger, who has had a troubled tour replete with injuries that also forced him to miss the second and final Test, reported a minor abdomen injury while Hussey returned home to play in West Australia's Sheffield Shield match with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Australia-c844.
The absence of the duo is set to further dampen the spirit of the tourists, who are taking part in the series without a number of leading players including captain Ricky Ponting, all-rounder Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 and pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson.
The captaincy of Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 was severely tested in the second ODI as he has at his disposal arguably the weakest Australian attack to have featured in an international in recent years.
With the opening match of the ODI series washed out Clarke can at best hope to draw the series with a win in Margao.
Interestingly, India's smallest state, Goa, has been experiencing rains over the past few days but bright sunshine greeted the cricketers on their arrival.
The match is expected to be a keenly contested affair despite the lack of strength in the Aussie ranks.
The tourists are known to be at their dangerous most when faced with adversity and that is surely the case for them as they get ready to face their fancied rivals in the last match of the tour.
The venue id the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao town of India's western state of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Goa-c786, and the excitement is already palpable in the small town that hardly gets to stage international cricket.
The organisers are hoping that the rain Gods stay away and they avoid a washout like the one in Kochi of India's southern state of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kerala-c803 on October 17.
If the match is washed out http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 would win the series 1-0, the defeat in the short series would be a major disappointment for the Australians on the eve of the Ashes series against old rivals England.
The first Test of the five match series begins at the Gabba on the 25th of next month and the hosts have to straighten out their plans before the commencement of the ultimate battle in Test cricket.
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